The Carolinas

[burchsc]

As a new member I hope this is not a redundant topic.
My wife and I have been vacationing in the Carolinas for many years and would now like to purchase a vacation residence and ultimately retire to the area.
My primary water activities are sailing and scuba so ease of access ( this does not necessarily have to mean on the water) is of primary concern.
Access to biking trails is also a plus.
Form a sailing perspective, can anyone provide some wisdom in the Carolinas areas most conducive to sailing in terms of easy of use (access).
Currently most of my time is spent on a small open trimaran.
Thanks to all.

[SecondWindNC]

Lots of places to choose from, depending on what you're looking for. Wilmington or Charleston for more developed areas and the amenities that go along with that. Beaufort/Morehead City for a nice area with a good inlet for ocean access, great seafood. Then there's the Pamlico/Neuse area, with Washington, Oriental, Ocracoke, New Bern and other neat places to sail and visit. That's just for a start!

[burchsc]

SecondWindNC
Thanks for your reply
The multitude of possibilities you describe is part of the problem for someone like me who is not familiar with the area in terms of sailing.
I am used to pushing off from the shore, it appears that one should belong to a yacht/sailing club and be prepared to negotiate for right of way through the canals with much larger craft or be content in sailing the sounds and rivers for extensive stretches to make the big water. Yes?

[SecondWindNC]

If what you're looking for is small boat sailing, you really can do that almost anywhere in the coastal Carolinas. There's not a lot of boat traffic when compared to areas like the Chesapeake or Florida. There's some commercial traffic around the ports - Beaufort, Wilmington, Charleston - but even then there's plenty of room and places to sail for the little guys.

You said you've vacationed in the Carolinas already - what areas have you visited?

[burchsc]

SecondWindNC
I personally have spent time along the east coast between Virginia to Florida and the Gulf during SCUBA trips so being on dive boats is the limit of my perspective.
The wife and I have looked a property from the OBX down to Pawleys Island/ Murrells Inlet. We also spent alot of time looking at the inland lakes but, as you probably know sailing is seasonal with the Mtns. blocking alot of the available wind.
I do have a passion for the smaller multi-hull boats but, many years ago I certified in a Catalina 22 which is the largest boat I have sailed to date although I have crewed on a couple larger craft.
I actually think that in the end my wife will want something with amenities so I'll probably end up with a small multi for fun and a smallish daysailer for "family" time.
Recently, I have found communities on the rivers (if that is the correct nomenclature) with deeded slips, (around Orient) which seems like a good concept assuming getting to the sound/big water is relatively painless. I confess to some paranoia relative to traffic, 30 years ago when my home waters were SoCal a guy on a Hobie 14 was at the bottom of the food chain in terms of navigating into and out of the ports (big commercial, time is money guys win).

[SecondWindNC]

Oriental is a great sailing community, although somewhat remote to reach by land. Washington has a lot to offer as well. Either of them offer plenty of properties where you could keep a boat on your own dock, as well as marina facilities where you could lease or buy a slip, depending on the setup. There are lots of small communities like that along the coast - and none of them are going to have the kind of traffic you're talking about from SoCal. We're located in Washington on the Pamlico River - a lot of our charterers visit Bath, Belhaven, Ocracoke, and Oriental. Some make it as far as Beaufort and visit Cape Lookout.

Hopefully some other Sailnetters will chime in about their favorite spots as well.